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Blackhawk Flashlight literally exploded like a bomb

I just had a Blackhawk Falcata 6 volt explode less than a foot from me. It blew shrapnel into my arm and leg, hit me in the face with a large piece of metal, and i inhaled some unpleasant gas that is made me sick and dizzy. I'm bleeding from about 15 places

If that's not bad enough, the pants and shirt I was wearing are badly burned, and my couch has a 6 inch diameter hole 3 inches deep burned in it and small shrapnel holes all over it.

I am pissed off beyond words but i talked to 2 vice presidents at blackhawk this morning. They were very nice, and said they would pay for everything including my couch if it turned out that their flashlight was responsible.

They asked me to send in the parts of the light that i have left, and i told them i would if my lawyer okayed it.

I had had this light for about a year, and a few weeks ago, the bulb went out. Blackhawk customer service sent me a new one free of charge.

It came in the mail yesterday, and i replaced the non-functioning one with it. Very simple procedure. The light didn't work with the new bulb, so i clicked it back off and set it on the couch thinking i'd just worry about it later. 2 hours later, my girlfriend and i were watching a movie on that same couch, and i heard a pop then less than a second later, a huge boom that sounded like a shotgun blast.

I was hit in the face with something metal, and the entire left side of my body was hit with burning crap and glass. I was cut in about 20 places, 2 of which were bleeding profusely. My couch was pretty much completely destroyed, and my clothes are a total loss. I inhaled a bunch of dust/gas, and coughed a LOT. That is when i decided to go to the ER.

Re: Blackhawk Flashlight literally exploded like a bomb

Originally Posted by RAGE CAGE

Scary stuff there- on a 1 cell 123 torch? What brand,type batt were you using? Single cell lights are SUPPOSED to be safe and not go .
Pics please...this is crazy. Did you mod the light from the orig. bulb?

Re: Blackhawk Flashlight literally exploded like a bomb

First hope that you will be okay, have a doctor check you out and tell him/her that you inhaled fumes from the batteries and what they were exactly.

Next tell us exactly what batteries you had, name brand, voltage rating, rechargeable or single use, whether or not they had a full charge on them or if you had put a fresh battery in with an older one, info like that. What the run time was on the batteries prior to the , and if you have more of these batteries at home. Very important stuff.

Re: Blackhawk Flashlight literally exploded like a bomb

i have spoken with both VP's of Blackhawk, and so far they have been very polite and helpful. They've said that if they find that the light was to blame, they will pay for all my medical bills, replace my couch and clothes, and replace the light (unsure how i feel about that).

if they are willing to do all that, I will not litigate, as i'm not interested in trying to get more money out of it than it cost me... but that being said, if they decide it's not their problem, i have already talked to a lawyer, and he has the paperwork ready for me to sign so that we can begin legal proceedings asap.

I just want Blackhawk to make it right. Even if the batteries fail the flashlight should not come apart like a shotgun shell.

Re: Blackhawk Flashlight literally exploded like a bomb

the following is a potential explanation as to what could have happened. It is speculation based on the new input above, not a verified failure analysis: It is very possible that the "new bulb" was a defect and the filaments were shorted and when you turned it on it drew high current. Turning it off may not have actually switched off the current. the switch contacts may have been damaged from high current flow of turn on into a shorted filament. So its possible it was sitting there drawing current in the couch even though there was no light output and then eventually one battery got depleted, reverse charged first and blew.

It is also possible that the lamp assembly was not installed correctly and that caused a short that bypassed the lamp altogether.

I have had one switch that failed when I tested a high current SST-50 direct drive LED through it that was drawing 4.7 amps. It would not turn off when I switched it off. In this case I knew the flashlight was on by light coming out of the LED and undid the tail cap to turn the light off. If there was a short circuit where there was no light output you would not know that it was still stuck in the on position drawing current.

Re: Blackhawk Flashlight literally exploded like a bomb

Is that a battery charger that I see in your first picture? Should you be charging primary Cr123's in a charger, you can expect the batteries and or light to explode. I don't know if you did charge primaries but that could definitely do the trick. Basically, I just hope that you are okay and no permanent damage was done to either you and or you're girlfriend.

"Screws fall out all the time, the world is an imperfect place". John Bender, The Breakfast Club

Re: Blackhawk Flashlight literally exploded like a bomb

Originally Posted by MrGman

the following is a potential explanation as to what could have happened. It is speculation based on the new input above, not a verified failure analysis: It is very possible that the "new bulb" was a defect and the filaments were shorted and when you turned it on it drew high current. Turning it off may not have actually switched off the current. the switch contacts may have been damaged from high current flow of turn on into a shorted filament. So its possible it was sitting there drawing current in the couch even though there was no light output and then eventually one battery got depleted, reverse charged first and blew.

It is also possible that the lamp assembly was not installed correctly and that caused a short that bypassed the lamp altogether.

I have had one switch that failed when I tested a high current SST-50 direct drive LED through it that was drawing 4.7 amps. It would not turn off when I switched it off. In this case I knew the flashlight was on by light coming out of the LED and undid the tail cap to turn the light off. If there was a short circuit where there was no light output you would not know that it was still stuck in the on position drawing current.

the part we would need to examine is the lamp assembly.

That's my theory at the moment.

unfortunately, the lamp assembly disintigrated into the dust that you see on the couch in the first picture as well as the glass that i pulled out of my leg and arm... it's not around to examine.

Originally Posted by saabgoblin

Is that a battery charger that I see in your first picture? Should you be charging primary Cr123's in a charger, you can expect the batteries and or light to explode. I don't know if you did charge primaries but that could definitely do the trick. Basically, I just hope that you are okay and no permanent damage was done to either you and or you're girlfriend.

Re: Blackhawk Flashlight literally exploded like a bomb

Even if the batteries fail the flashlight should not come apart like a shotgun shell.

When batteries misbehave (understatement), the built up gasses inside the flashlight need to go somewhere.

Depending on how airtight the flashlight is, the gasses may vent out the tailcap area, bezel area (as yours appears to have), or the flashlight body may self destruct if the gasses are building up rapidly (which is usually the case).

Even Surefire flashlights (the cream of the crop) have come apart when CR123A primary cells failed.

Re: Blackhawk Flashlight literally exploded like a bomb

The only real evidence you have is that the new lamp did not come on when installed. I see from the link to the vendor's site its an entire lamp assembly you are just dropping in and not a little tiny bi-pin lamp that you have to plug in yourself and could have an accident with. If that is correct, the likelyhood that you could have "dropped it in" wrong is very low, but not Zero %. Its always possible that the center spring for the module was touching the positive terminal of the battery and also somehow touching the case wall. The metal spring would have been a very low resistive load to the batteries. It may be a remote possibility but still until its ruled out its still a possibility.

Were both batteries new or of the same previous condition, meaning they were both in the same light together previously and not having one or the other changed out?

Re: Blackhawk Flashlight literally exploded like a bomb

both batteries were in THIS light previously, were purchased the same day, and had been in this light together from the day i bought them. They were almost never used, but they worked just fine until the bulb went out.

Re: Blackhawk Flashlight literally exploded like a bomb

Originally Posted by MrGman

Its always possible that the center spring for the module was touching the positive terminal of the battery and also somehow touching the case wall. The metal spring would have been a very low resistive load to the batteries. It may be a remote possibility but still until its ruled out its still a possibility.

+1

I'm not familiar with the internals of the Falcata. Do you remove the tail cap to insert the batteries, or are they inserted through the head side of the body? Maybe this is similar to the issue we see with the springs on P60 lamps getting deflected if the batteries aren't removed when lamps are replaced?

Re: Blackhawk Flashlight literally exploded like a bomb

Wow. A lot of damage there. I hope you don't suffer any lasting effects. Thanks for keeping us informed, it is appreciated.

Seems to me that lithium cell powered lights require way more than normal care and attention. I wonder how many of us here would have done the same as the OP did - light doesn't work so drop it down to check out later. I doubt many of us would have been careful enough or aware enough to have realised what was happening The more I learn here the more it seems to me that li-ions, rechargeable or primary, must be treated with the utmost respect and at the slightest sign of anything untoward treated as potential grenades with the pin out.

Re: Blackhawk Flashlight literally exploded like a bomb

the problem with that is that i can only find one of the batteries. The other one was billowing smoke and my gf threw it outside. I have looked in the bushes, but i can't find it. Here's a pic of the one i have left. That should give you an idea of the exact model energizer.

[IMG]http://i40.tinypic.com/k37w9d.jpg[IMG]

Last edited by SilverFox; 03-27-2010 at 10:56 AM.
Reason: Picture needs to be resized.

Re: Blackhawk Flashlight literally exploded like a bomb

Looks like that battery is somewhat intact (from this side view). Assuming the smoking one outside is the one that went boom? Probably going to have to find that one if you want to bring Energizer in on this right?

I'm guessing that mesh like material is an internal component of the 123 that blew.

Re: Blackhawk Flashlight literally exploded like a bomb

i can't imagine energizer just taking my word for it that the other one was one of theirs, so unless i can find the other battery, i don't see them doing much. I think it is more the replacement bulb assembly that is to blame anyway, which puts it in Blackhawk's field.

I have no clue at all what the mesh is. I was wondering that myself, but it's scorched, and was melted to my couch, so whatever it is, it was HOT

Re: Blackhawk Flashlight literally exploded like a bomb

If a flashlight is designed in a way that replacing a bulb lends it to explode then I think the flashlight is a flawed design. If batteries explode when a flashlight is flawed then they are at least partly at fault. I am going to say 2 cell flashlights should have a pressure release mechanism because of the known situation involving 2 cells where one can reverse charge another.
Make sure you have no long term effects from this incident. My experience with Blackhawk is that they build good quality lights but as with anything you can have a bad apple in the bunch. That's not to say it was even the fault of the light. The battery chemistry is inherently dangerous in those type of cells. Hopefully at some point in the future there will be cells that can provide the same or better power without the explosive concern these type have.

There is no important work, there are only a series of moments to demonstrate your mastery and impeccability. Quote from Almine

Re: Blackhawk Flashlight literally exploded like a bomb

Wow! Thanks for the detailed photos. Remind me to stay away from Energizer lithiums - oops, never-mind, you just did! I assume there was at one time a glass lens in front of the bulb that's now also just shards. Good thing it wasn't clipped in your shirt pocket when it blew!

One other thought: the original bulb that died that caused you to replace it with another - do you still have that dead bulb? Have you checked to make sure the bulb's really open or shorted (with an ohmmeter would be the easiest way)? I was just wondering if something could have failed in the light which would look like a failed bulb, but might have actually set up the proper conditions for causing this sort of catastrophic failure after you put in the replacement bulb. Just an idea.